Only you understand me best

"Hm?"

Ross stopped, but he did not turn around. He merely tilted his head slightly.

"Captain-General, do you have any parting instructions?"

The subtle tension between them made Byakuya Kuchiki and the other captains nearby frown. Unease hung in the air.

"If anything happens to me on the day of the execution, you will inherit the position of Captain-General."

Captain-General Yamamoto paid no heed to Ross's disrespect. His voice was as still as stagnant water.

"As for the captaincy of the First Division, let Sasakibe inherit it. I will explain the situation to him over the next few days."

At those weighty words, almost like a dying man's final entrustment, the other captains' pupils contracted. They stared in shock at the old man sitting cross-legged on the floor.

The man who had never bowed his head in his entire life, the strongest Shinigami, hailed as an insurmountable wall...

Did even he have moments when he made arrangements for after his death?

Could he, too, have sensed something coming?

"Ah..."

With his back to everyone, Ross's lips curled into an almost imperceptible smile.

He raised a hand and waved casually.

"Captain-General, you really should avoid saying such ominous things. You'd be better off staying hale and hearty."

"If you really do die..."

Ross started walking, his voice receding with his silhouette.

"I will honor your last wishes and elevate the Tenth Division to the Captain-General's division. As for Lieutenant Captain Sasakibe, I'll grant his wish and let him inherit command of the First Division."

"After all, that is your final order, isn't it?"

As Ross vanished through the doorway, the remaining captains exchanged glances.

At last, Byakuya Kuchiki stepped forward first and bowed deeply to the old man's back.

Sajin Komamura, Hitsugaya Toshiro, and the others followed suit, then silently withdrew